Wicker Park (West Town)
Wicker Park (West Town)

Wicker Park (West Town)

Origins Settled c. 1870
Area West Side
Boundaries

Bloomingdale Avenue on the north, Division Street on the south, Ashland Avenue on the east and Western Avenue on the west.

Gangs founded Latin Kings, Warlords Wicker Park, La Familia Warlords, Playboys, Ventures, Pulaski Park, Rice Boys, Milwaukee Kings,
Gangs headquartered Latin Kings, Vice Lords,

Wicker Park is bounded by: Bloomingdale Avenue on the north, Division Street on the south, Ashland Avenue on the east and Western Avenue on the west.

This area was first laid out in subdivisions by Charles and Joel Wicker in the year 1870.  In the year 1871 the area got a boost in migration as displaced families that were victims of the Great Chicago Fire took up residence in Wicker Park that was named after the Wicker brothers.  Soon Wicker Park became an upper-class community as many of Chicago’s wealthy elite moved here and built elegant mansions especially of German or Scandinavian decent.

By the 1890s and into the 1900s decade several wealthy Polish elites moved in here and became the vast majority.  Along with wealthy Polish came impoverished Polish migrants in the 1890s that found Bell Ave to be ideal to build small cottages.  This area was around Hirsch to Potomac then Leavitt to Bell.  This small area of the neighborhood was all that the impoverished could afford.  Because this small area was so affordable impoverished African Americans were able to settle along this part of Bell Ave too among the impoverished Polish.  This was one of the earliest black settlements into a white neighborhood in Chicago history.

Another large Polish migration wave happened when World War II started for Poland in 1939 as scores of Polish immigrants arrived in Wicker Park and this brought about a working-class element to the area.

As early as the early 1950s some of the first Puerto Rican families settled in Wicker Park and this began the legacy of the Puerto Rican culture in Wicker Park; however, the numbers of Puerto Ricans in Wicker Park in the 1950s were so low the neighborhood hardly noticed.

In the 1950s Wicker Park began to experience scores of white greaser gangs that often battled each other and other West Town gangs.  West Town was full of different greaser clubs in the 50s as far back as the decade began.  Sometimes West Town gangs were violent and dangerous.  Wicker Park and East Humboldt Park had some of the more vicious greaser groups.

In the year 1958 the Gaylords, C-Notes, and Lazy Gents formed in the West Town area which was the toughest and/or largest of the greaser clubs.  These gangs had no turf in Wicker Park but they often harassed and bullied Wicker Park youths who were mostly of German and Polish descent.  Finally in the autumn of 1958 a tough greaser gang of Wicker Park’s own formed at Division and Honore known as the Playboys.  The Playboys were tough as nails and were the toughest gang to have ever existed in Wicker Park at that point.  Playboys were tough enough the handle C-Notes, Gaylords, and Lazy Gents.

In the year 1960 another white gang formed in the Walsh Park area at the neighborhood’s border called the Sons of Satan Slaves that had the same goals as the Playboys and that was to fight off fellow invading white gangs like C-Notes, Gaylords and Lazy Gents.  Just like the original Playboys these kids were mostly German and Polish and were picked on by the bigger gangs.  Four years later the Sons of Satan Slaves would rename themselves to become the legendary Ventures street gang.  Playboys and Ventures would establish common grounds as allies in the early 60s fighting against the same enemies.

Wicker Park began to change in the year 1962 when large scores of Puerto Rican families migrated into Wicker Park from mostly Lincoln Park and the Near West Side.  More African American migration also came to Wicker Park that year. As blacks and Hispanics began to arrive in higher volumes many Wicker Park residents were angered over this and began to discriminate or attack people of color.  This was the beginning of racial strife.  The African Americans and Puerto Ricans arriving were impoverished and alongside them arrived crime, prostitution, and drugs.  These issues were not caused by black and Hispanic people instead these were criminals that took advantage of the poverty stricken as they knew they could get away with more crime as long as they stayed within the areas black and Hispanic people lived.  They knew the police and the community would blame the culture instead of individual offenders making a free-for-all for these criminals.  The Playboys and Sons of Satan Slaves street gangs were especially angered over this new wave and began victimizing groups of Hispanic and black youths; however, many Playboys and other groups of whites were also attacked and bullied by Hispanic and black groups.  Puerto Rican families faced discrimination and hatred from many white residents that considered Puerto Ricans non-Americans.  Groups of greasers roamed these streets attacking Puerto Rican youths and beating them as they traveled across town or boarded buses to school.  The same hate was felt among the black community.

One thing that must be understood is from the Playboy’s perspective and many other long-time residents of Wicker Park, their culture and way of life they were used to was changing.  White flight began for those that could afford the privilege, but many white families of Wicker Park were poor and could not afford to leave; therefore, they felt they had to stay and fight.  It was also a fact that Hispanic gangs from mainly Lincoln Park were settling on these streets and were often unruly and criminal elements.  Most of the Hispanic community condemned such behavior but they were rather powerless to help stop it especially since the police blamed the citizens and treated them unfairly causing citizens to not be as cooperative.  It was best to stay out of police attention.

One of the most notorious of Puerto Rican gangs to arrive in Wicker Park in 1962 was the Imperials that arrived from the Near West Side community.  The Imperials’ leader Ramon Santos took up residence at an apartment building at 2144 W. Schiller which was directly across from Sabin Elementary School and right on the corner of Leavitt and Schiller.  In the same building or the same area around Leavitt and Schiller members of extremist Puerto Rican revolutionary groups also moved in as neighbors to the Imperials and this is when Imperials began to connect with revolutionaries on idealism.  The Imperials also recruited kids in the neighborhood to establish the Junior Imperials who assured that Puerto Rican children were not attacked and bullied on their way to Sabin Elementary.  The Imperials were mostly a quiet group that did not bother their neighbors but when white gangs came to victimize them or their neighbors, they became furious and were tough.  Early members of Gaylords, C-Notes, Simon City and Playboys often recall fighting with these guys as Latin Kings mistaking them as Latin Kings when they first encountered them because a few years later these guys would become Latin Kings but for now these guys were Imperials, and the white gangs were fighting Imperials and did not even know the name, therefore, Imperials are never brought up as the name is not well-known.  Legendary Latin Kings like Cadillac Joe, Fast Eddy and Lefty came from this intersection, and all started as Imperials in 1962.

The increased African American migration in 1962 helped establish a small African American enclave in the vicinity of Potomac on the north, Division on the south, Hoyne on the east and Leavitt on the west, the largest concentration was at Evergreen and Hoyne by 1962.  Blacks of course faced racial discrimination by white greaser gangs and by Puerto Rican gangs as well.  For decades young black men had to be tough and fight viciously against groups of whites and these tough young black men became noticed by the Vice Lord’s organization.  In that same year Vice Lords were spreading onto the north side streets as they landed in Cabrini Green area and along the way they came to Evergreen and Hoyne and recruited these tough warriors to fight carrying the Vice Lord banner, this is when Vice Lords established Evergreen and Hoyne.  A few years later these Vice Lords identified with the Conservative Vice Lord branch.

Property was becoming cheaper in Wicker Park mainly because landlords were purchasing large mansions and larger houses and converting them into apartments that offered affordable rent for lower income residents. African American and Puerto Rican lower income migrants found these apartments to be affordable and moved in.  2144 W. Schiller was an example of a building that was a former house converted into an affordable apartment building and that made it easy for Imperials to move in.  This practice was frowned upon by many Wicker Park residents. Greedy block busting real estate agencies didn’t help the situation as they came to Wicker Park preaching that the community was going to change to a high crime minority neighborhood soon.  Wicker Park now experienced a high rate of white flight during the next two years and by the year 1964 Wicker Park was still a mostly white neighborhood but was already no longer an upper-class neighborhood as the upper classes were the first to bail out leaving their mansions to be converted into apartments for the poor.  The area north of North Avenue was mostly untouched by this migratory change and this area was very much middle-class and working class white. Many residents in this area were striving to prevent this part of Wicker Park from changing in the 1960s and 1970s.

Most of the African American migration was landing in the southwest quadrant in Oakley to Damen and Evergreen to Division.  In the 1960s the southeast quadrant of the neighborhood was dominated by the Playboys as this part of Wicker Park was white in the 60s from Damen to Ashland and from Milwaukee Ave to Division.  Puerto Rican migration mainly came to North Ave down to Milwaukee Ave/Evergreen Ave in the more central part of the community and of course everything north of North Ave up to Bloomingdale Trail was white.

By the year 1964 Puerto Rican migration was very significant as racial tensions boiled over.  As the weather got warmer by the month of May the tensions worsened and this is when a new Puerto Rican gang moved to the neighborhood from the Noble Square neighborhood called the Skulls.  The Skulls of Eckhardt Park were outnumbered by Gaylords and now had to leave their area arriving at Leavitt and Schiller to live as neighbors by the Imperials.  The Imperials and Skulls got together and invented the idea of the Latin Kings organization and after a meeting in Humboldt Park it was official that the Latin King nation was born at Leavitt and Schiller.  Leavitt and Schiller was the governing body of the Latin King nation and the headquarters.  The Leavitt and Schiller Latin Kings hung out at a restaurant named Mom & Pops and they opened a club house called “Pete’s.”  This was the beginning of the Latin King mob in Wicker Park as these were some of the hardest and toughest Latin Kings ever known.  The Latin Kings then quickly conquered all the way up to North Avenue to Schiller then Bell Ave to Leavitt.  The Latin Kings had heavy animosity with the Playboys and Ventures as their worst neighborhood enemies.  Latin Kings got along with other Puerto Rican gangs at first and even tried to convince them to change their ways and stop behaving as sloppy criminals.  The Latin Kings wanted to protect their neighbors not make their living situation worse like other Puerto Rican gangs did.

The Warlords street gang was another Puerto Rican gang that formed in 1964 on the streets of Wicker Park that had the same goals as Latin Kings.  The Warlords started at Evergreen and Damen and would take the area of Damen to Leavitt and Division to Evergreen over time.  Latin Kings and Warlords were neighbors and allies as they teamed up against Playboys and Ventures.

Playboys and Ventures viewed the Latin Kings and Warlords as a major threat they could not handle alone; therefore, both gangs got together with a Noble Square gang called Pulaski Park and they formed an alliance known as “Playboys Ventures and Pulaski Park” or “P.V.P.”  This was such a tight alliance that other gangs considered them one gang as they moved as one gang fighting common enemies like Latin Kings and Warlords and outside white gangs like Gaylords and C-Notes.

In the year 1964 a Puerto Rican gang called the Harrison Gents migrated here alongside Puerto Rican migration at Lemoyne and Paulina area.  The Harrison Gents had animosity with PVPs, but they also would tangle with Latin Kings and Warlords upon arrival.  The Harrison Gents were a Puerto Rican and African American gang from the Near West Side and in Wicker Park they recruited Puerto Ricans and whites while Latin Kings were Puerto Rican and white and Warlords were almost exclusively Puerto Rican.  The Harrison Gents did not share the same revolutionary beliefs as Latin Kings and Warlords, and this resulted in a clash.  The similarity was that Harrison Gents were there to protect the victimized Puerto Rican community, but they also bonded with frustrated whites upset about neighborhood change.

In the year 1966 the Latin Kings embarked upon a conquest for the streets of West Town and Humboldt Park as the Latin Kings were fed up with disorganized criminal minded Puerto Rican gangs.  Even though Latin Kings engaged in these same behaviors, as an organization, they condemned this behavior and sought to eliminate these harms to their communities. This resulted in a violent conquest to destroy most Puerto Rican gangs.  The Warlords were spared as allies.  Later in the year only Warlords, Latin Kings and Harrison Gents primarily remained as the only Puerto Rican gangs in Wicker Park.  During the Division Street riots that summer the Latin Kings prevailed again as one of the main groups participating in the riots.  The riots caused more white flight as the destruction along Division Street upset many long-time residents and white flight accelerated.  This riot went right through Playboys’ neighborhood which further ignited the rivalry with the Latin Kings.

In the year 1968 the Spanish Lords migrated to Wicker Park in the far western part of the neighborhood at Hirsch and Western.  The Spanish Lords were tight allies with Latin Kings but soon after arrival the two gangs engaged in some bloody wars as their neighborhoods were very close.  These wars were not Permanent especially since the Latin King leader Ramon Santos was good friends with the leader of the Spanish Lords.  Both gangs also worked together in the late 60s to push out heroin dealers by robbing them.  The problem was they would then get high on the heroin they stole which was the beginning of a heroin problem Wicker Park Latin Kings faced in the late 60s and early 70s.

In 1969, the Warlords organized the United Neighborhoods alliance they created alongside Wicker Park Latin Kings and Spanish Lords.  This alliance allowed the Puerto Rican gangs to unite and not fight one another, instead they would focus all their energy on the greaser clubs that were trying to push them out of the neighborhood.  The United Neighborhoods is the oldest Hispanic gang alliance in history and happened right here in Wicker Park. This alliance stopped much of the wars between Spanish Lords and Latin Kings and now these gangs could focus on PVPs and Harrison Gents.

In the year 1969 the Milwaukee Kings formed along Milwaukee Ave which was right in the middle of Harrison Gent, Warlord and Latin King neighborhoods.  The Milwaukee Kings would clash immediately with Warlords and Latin Kings making the Latin Kings their archrival.  By this time the Hispanic gangs were more focused on each other than the PVPs.  The PVPs had also established an alliance with the Gaylords and C-Notes that year causing Gaylords and C-Notes to appear more often in Wicker Park fighting Hispanic gangs.  The racial war was still very real but the wars between Hispanic gangs was perhaps equally as bad or worse.

By the end of the 1960s Wicker Park south of North Ave began to fall into urban blight as white flight economically devastated the community.  Abandoned buildings, prostitution, drugs and gangs became common sites which accelerated more white flight below North Ave and the Playboys began to leave the Division Street area migrating north in 1971.  In the 1970 census 40% of Wicker Park was Hispanic which showed how far along white flight progressed in the 1960s.

In 1971 the Playboys now settled north of North Ave to join the Ventures to control the Walsh Park area.  The Taylor Street Jousters arrived in 1971 which was a Puerto Rican and Mexican street gang from the Near West Side.  What made the Jousters unique was that they were founded by Italians in the early 60s and were the predecessors of the mostly Italian Taylor Street Dukes that fought neighborhood change and heavy migration of the Near West Side.  Even though the Jousters were not white anymore they shared the original beliefs with Wicker Park white youths around North Ave who were dealing with the same issues as the original Jousters so these white youths joined the Jousters under more white power beliefs and almost all Wicker Park Jousters were white as they took the area of Bloomingdale to North Ave and Damen to Honore right next to Playboys and Ventures forming an alliance called “Playboys Ventures and Jousters” or “PVJ.”  The PVJ alliance as a whole adopted the new WPO (White Power Organization) beliefs and used it to team up against the Hispanic gangs re-igniting the racial war. In 1971 the Simon City Royals arrived on these streets in the Bloomingdale to North Ave area, but they settled the more northwest on the west side of Damen Ave.  The Simon City street gang was operating in the Logan Square community area and members were residing in the Bucktown area during this time since the later 1960s.  This made way for the Simon City Royals to arrive in 1971 joining the Jousters and PVPs in their fight for the neighborhood.  The Simon City group was allies with a gang called the Insane Unknowns from Bucktown which was a mostly Puerto Rican gang with several white members.  Simon City retired completely around this time and gave their colors to the Insane Unknowns showing how tight they were.  Both gangs hung out along the Bucktown/Wicker Park border, and this is how Insane Unknowns became familiar with the Wicker Park area.  Taylor Jousters members clashed with the Insane Unknowns in the 60s before Jousters had even arrived and when Jousters arrived the rivalry was instant.  This made Royals and Jousters as more or less enemies because of the Unknowns.  But one factor preventing all out war was the WPO alliance that Royals and Jousters were both part of.

In the year 1971 heroin abuse by Latin Kings had taken its toll on Leavitt and Schiller forcing the Latin Kings to decide as an organization to withdraw from the community which also meant the headquarters was moved to West Humboldt Park at Beach and Spaulding.  The Latin Kings now had a intense animosity with the Conservative Vice Lords as did the Warlords and just about anyone else.  The Vice Lords were not liked at all by the Wicker Park community, but these Vice Lords were tough as nails and could not be eradicated but the rivals sure tried.  It was on these streets that notorious Latin King leader Gustavo Colon A.K.A Lord Gino, A.K.A Hippie caught himself a murder case on these streets for killing a Vice Lord shooting him to death.  Latin King and Vice Lord territory was very close to each other.  Colon was at Leavitt and Potomac which was Vice Lord turf; however, Colon shot the Vice Lord anyway in a racially motivated attack.  This incident along with the heroin issue caused the Latin Kings to withdraw and to re-organize their organization.  After the Latin Kings left Some young members remained and formed a group called the Undercover Kings in the Leavitt and Schiller area.

In the year 1973 the Insane Unknowns migrated from Bucktown to the intersection of Leavitt and Schiller immediately recruiting the Undercover Kings into their ranks.  Insane Unknows were always a small less known about gang in Bucktown but on these Leavitt and Schiller streets they became notorious.  The Insane Unknowns were known to be violent and dangerous to the point that even the police were intimidated by them.  The Unknowns now had this sacred corner of Leavitt and Schiller and would continue the legacy of this storied intersection as they took over all the original Latin King turf from North Ave to Schiller and Damen to Leavitt.  Insane Unknowns even resided in some of the same buildings the Latin Kings once did as it was history reliving history which is fascinating.  To this day people of all different organizations and even regular Chicago people recall Leavitt and Schiller.  The Insane Unknowns battled Jousters and PVPs heavily.  Insane Unknows became tight with Warlords and Spanish Lords.  At first Insane Unknowns were tight with Royals as well.  Unknowns would also continue the legacy of hate toward Conservative Vice Lords.

During the mid-1970s years Spanish Lords and Warlords grew in this neighborhood.  Simon City Royals left the area after war began with Jousters and Unknowns between 1975 and 1976.  The Royals now had no allies and faced legal issues.  The Milwaukee Kings also withdrew from the area in 1975 due to their heavy legal issues after aggressively engaging in violent wars with rivals.

In the year 1975, Playboys and Ventures left the entire Wicker Park area and this ended their oldest legacy.   The reason for the departure of the PVPs was white flight and heavy police crackdowns on their organization following a storied prison escape, a string of PVP burgleries and acts of violence the PVPs inflicted upon Puerto Rican gangs.  By 1975, white flight was affordable for all Wicker Park white families, even the poorest.  The Taylor Jousters would become the only white gang left in Wicker Park until the mid-80s.

In the year 1979 the Latin Kings returned to Wicker Park and wanted their old territory back at Leavitt and Schiller, but the Insane Unknowns were not having it; however, the Latin Kings did have some rights to the land as their motherland.  Both gangs were unified under the United neighborhoods and under the People alliance; therefore, they worked out a plan to share this territory to fight against the Spanish Cobras from Noble Square and East Humboldt Park.  The Latin Kings also settled in old Milwaukee King territory along Milwaukee Ave.  The Latin Kings, Insane Unknowns, Spanish Lords and Warlords were now at last in the same community as People nation/United neighborhoods allies going up against the WPO, CVLs and Harrison Gents.  This alliance would prove to be harsh on Vice Lords, Jousters and Harrison Gents.

By the end of the 1970s Wicker Park had become a dangerous and violent neighborhood that had succumb to high poverty and urban blight.  White flight had devasted this community as this was one of the most impoverished Hispanic majority neighborhoods in Chicago. Gang activity was very pronounced and involved some heavy hitting members of these gangs.  By 1980 all the remaining white population lived north of North Ave in the area many have misidentified as part of Bucktown, this is where the Jousters remained.

 

In the early 80s just as white power type gangs were leaving the area north of North Ave young urban professionals saved this northern part of the community from blight and severe crime as they began to buy these old mansions and converted apartments for low rates.  These Yuppies of the early 80s began fixing up these old properties, thus, enhancing the beauty of the area.  This was mainly in the former Simon City Royal area, and this stopped the spread of gangs into this area.

In the year 1985 the rest of the impoverished or working-class white community left Wicker Park that was north of North Ave causing the Jousters to leave the community. The Yuppies then spread their influence eastward all the way to Ashland above North Ave taking over former Jouster and Playboy sections.

In the same year of 1985 the Latin Jivers made their way into the neighborhood turning out a smaller gang called the Latino Stars.  The Jivers became very popular quickly and began moving just west of Harrison Gent territory.  Harrison Gents and Latin Jivers were now neighbors but were both Folks.  The Jivers would engage in violent gang wars with Latin Kings, Insane Unknowns, Warlords, and Spanish Lords.

By the end of the 1980s Wicker Park had now fallen into the peak of poverty and urban blight.  Gang activity and violence was also at its peak heading into the 1990s.  Despite the negativity, Wicker Park was a Hispanic neighborhood with lots of culture and many fondly recall how interesting the neighborhood was in the 1970s and 1980s.  This is why the takeover of upper income classes in later years was viewed as devastating to the pronounced culture that once existed.  As the 90s approached more and more yuppies began to bravely venture south of North Ave buying more devasted properties and rehabbing them.  In the early 1990s the yuppies even began fixing up the commercial area along Division, Milwaukee, North Ave, Western Ave and Ashland Ave.

By the year 1993 Wicker Park was looking a little more gentrified as now yuppies had become a more recognized group in the neighborhood.  Leavitt and Schiller began being gentrified in 1993 and this pushed many Latin Kings and all of the Insane Unknowns out of this area as Insane Unknowns became extinct in Wicker Park. Latin Kings left Milwaukee Ave along with any other gang activity as this was the first commercial strip to get the most gentrification.  Latin Kings moved to Damen and Crystal where they remain in recent years while still maintaining Leavitt and Schiller area but in a reduced area of Pierce to Schiller and Hoyne to Leavitt.  Warlords closed all their Wicker Park operations adding to the extinct list in 1993.  Spanish Lords left the area as well as now gentrification hit hard from Damen to Western and from North Ave to Division by 1993.  The only gang to survive was the Conservative Vice Lords.  CVLs were able to remain because many of their members had section 8 vouchers given to the black community that allowed them to not have to succumb to increased rent payments.  This also allowed the Black P Stones to move into Vice Lord territory. The Black P Stones were another African American street gang.

In the northeast area the Harrison Gents left Wicker Park in 1993 as Latin Jivers advanced into their neighborhood.  Maniac Latin Disciples also moved into Wicker Park for the first time  near the Jivers; however, Disciples settled more north of North Ave in former PVP hood. Jivers and Disciples were trying to exist among the gentrification but heavier police presence supporting the growing yuppies community created difficulties for them to exist.  During the mid-1990s gentrification was sweeping the northeast area more causing the Jivers to shrink in numbers but the MLDs were still growing.  During this time Maniac Latin Disciples and Latin Kings would engage in violence that was some of the last of the major gang activity in the neighborhood.  By the late 1990s gang activity heavily decreased as yuppies took over more of the neighborhood and now were heavily present in the whole community. The Latin Jivers then left the area leaving just MLDs and Latin Kings as the last remaining Hispanic gangs.

During the 2000s-decade Wicker Park became unrecognizable as shuttered buildings were now occupied by trendy businesses and swanky apartments.  Dilapidated buildings were razed making way for high priced condos and apartments.  Even the 2144 W. Schiller building was razed and replaced by the Leavitt and Schiller condos which are high rent swanky condos.  Prostitutes, drug dealers and vagrants that once walked these streets were replaced by yuppies hastily moving about and walking their dogs.  Seedy bars along Milwaukee Ave were now replaced by trendy, lively bars creating a major Chicago night life in Wicker Park.  The streets became clean and no longer were littered with trash.  The neighborhood was so gentrified by the early 2000s the romantic comedy featuring Josh Hartnett called “Wicker Park” was filmed in Wicker Park in 2004 which portrayed yuppie type of individuals dealing with a romance.  The MLDs, Latin Kings, Stones and CVLs remained in the community in the 2000s but were no longer seen standing on corners or engaging in heavy gangbanging.  The police were watching these groups closely as was the yuppie community ready to call police as Wicker Park was now one of the safer neighborhoods in Chicago.

By the 2010s decade the yuppies began to move out of Wicker Park as they got married and started families.  Younger yuppies moved in but the main new group to take over was hipsters as Wicker Park became the hipster capital of Chicago.  Wicker Park became even more trendy and more expensive than ever, and the nightlife became larger as hipsters enjoy their craft beer and trendy restaurants.  Wicker Park became a major culinary scene for flourishing restaurants as now this neighborhood was known for everything except poverty, crime and gangs.

In the mid-2010s the gentrification became too much for Maniac Latin Disciples, Latin Kings, Black P Stones, and the Conservative Vice Lords to handle.  MLDs, Black P Stones and CVLs left the area.  This ended a long legacy of the Conservative Vice Lords.  The Latin Kings withdrew from Leavitt and Schiller area and concentrated at Damen and Crystal where they remain in current years but in very small numbers and very hidden from the public.

The Imperial Insane Vice Lords moved into former Black P Stone and CVL territory in the 2010s becoming the most prominent gang in Wicker Park in present years.

Wicker Park is the founding neighborhood of the Latin Kings, PVPs, Warlords, and Milwaukee Kings

In the 1960s Wicker Park was dominated by PVPs, Latin Kings, Harrison Gents and Conservative Vice Lords

In the 1970s Wicker Park was dominated by PVPs, Latin Kings, Harrison Gents, Conservative Vice Lords, Warlords, Taylor Jousters, Insane Unknowns and Spanish Lords

In the 1980s Wicker Park was dominated by Latin Kings, Conservative Vice Lords, Warlords, Insane Unknowns, Spanish Lords and Latin Jivers

In the 1990s Wicker Park was dominated by Latin Kings, Conservative Vice Lords, Black P Stones, Latin Jivers and Maniac Latin Disciples

In the 2000s Wicker Park was dominated by Latin Kings, Conservative Vice Lords, Black P Stones and Maniac Latin Disciples

In the 2010s decade to present years Wicker Park is dominated by Latin Kings and Imperial Insane Vice Lords

For those of you among the hipster and yuppie class you might be interested to know these significant gangs once walked these streets over time:

Playboys Ventures Pulaski Park Established as Playboys 1958-1975

Wabansia to North Ave, Ashland to Honore (Walsh Park) Established as Ventures 1960-1975, as Playboys 1971-1975 (PVP)

Division from Honore to Ellen Established 1958-1975 as Playboys (PVP)

Warlords Established 1964-1993

Evergreen to Division, Leavitt to Damen Established 1964-1993

Milwaukee & Wolcott Established 1974-1993 (Shared with Latin Kings)

Western & Division Established 1978-1993 (La Familia Warlords)

Harrison Gents Established 1964-1993

Lemoyne to Blackhawk, Ashland to Paulina Established 1964-1993

Latin Jivers Established 1985-late 90s

North Ave to Milwaukee Ave, Paulina to Wood (Hustle Town, Baller Side) Established 1985-late 90s

Milwaukee Kings Established 1969-1975

Milwaukee & Wood/Wolcott Established 1969-1975

Insane Unknowns Established 1973-1993

North Ave to Schiller, Damen to Leavitt Established 1973-1993

Spanish Lords Established 1968-1993

North Ave & Claremont Established 1975-1993

Hirsch & Western (Tuley High School) Established 1968-1975

North Ave to Potomac, Claremont the Western Established 1968-1993

Taylor Jousters Established 1971-1985

Bloomingdale to North Ave, Damen to Honore Established 1971-1985

Conservative Vice Lords Established 1962-2010s

Evergreen to Crystal, Leavitt to Hoyne (Eastville, shared with Black P Stones) Established 1962-2010s

Mafia Insane Vice Lords

North Ave & Damen

Imperial Insane Vice Lords 2010s-present years

North Ave to Evergreen, Damen to Leavitt 2010s-present years

Black P Stones Established 1993-mid-2010s

Potomac to Crystal, Leavitt to Hoyne (Shared with Conservative Vice Lords) 1993-2010s

Simon City Royals Established 1971-1975

Bloomingdale to North Ave, Western to Damen Established 1971-1975

Latin Kings Established as Imperials 1962-1971, return 1979-present years

Leavitt & Schiller Established as Imperials 1962-1971, return 1979-2000s

Damen & Crystal Established 1993-present years

Milwaukee & Honore Established 1979-1993

North Ave to Schiller, Bell to Leavitt Established 1979-mid-2010s

Maniac Latin Disciples Established 1993-2010s

Wabansia to Blackhawk, Ashland to Paulina (Ghost Town, A-Dub) Established 1993-mid-2010s

North Ave & Honore